Axle housing



Oct. 4, 1.932a HA H. WILLHAMS 3,880,3@5

AXLIE HOUSING Original Filed Jan. 25. 1926 l ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 4, 1932 Unirse srAre-s errar ."sric,

HERBERT H. WILLIAMS, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE vASSIGN- YORK, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK MENTS, TO METROPOLITAN ENGINEERING CORPORATION, OF BROOKLYN, NEW

AXLE HOUSING Original application led January 23, 1926, Serial, .No. 83,331. Divided and this December 31, 1927.

In my application Serial N o. 83,331, hled January 23, 1926, (Patent No. 1,689,989, granted October 3G, 1928.), I have Vdescribed a certain method of making axle housings. The present application is a division thereof directed to the axle housing and related parts.

The accompanying drawing illustrates einbodiments of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a partial elevation and partial vertical section of a housing;

Fig. 2 is a partial plan and partial horizontal section of the same;

Fig. 3 isa cross-section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan of one of the blanks from xwhich the housing is formed;

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the next v operation on the blank;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a vertical section of an end of the housing at an intermediate stage in its production;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section, and Fig. 9 a vertical transverse section of an alternative method of forming a saddle;

Fig. 10 is a perspective of a bar from which the filler of Fig. 3 is cut;

Fig. 11 is a similar view of a rolled lbar from which the plate 14 of Fig. 9 is cut.

Housings for rear axles of automobiles are of various designs. Most, if not all of them, have tubular ends, an enlarged annular center with inward flanges surrounding openings for the introduction of the gearing,` saddles or similar devices for engagement by springs and other parts of the car and `flanges at the ends for stiffening the latter and connecting them to adjacent parts of the wheel and axle bearings. The present invention is illustrated in connection with one design of such a housing, but it will be understood that it is applicable to housings of various other designs and proportions. The housing comprises tubular end portions 1 and an enlarged central portion 2 and is made of two segments united along the horizontal plane indicated by the line 3, Fig. 1, by butt welding.

F ig. 4 illustrates a flat blank from which one of the segments is formed by bending Serial No. 243,793.

up the edges to the vap ropriate cross-section at diiierent points. plan of the segment bent up from this blank would appear as indicated at the left of Fig. 2. Before bending to the segmental form, however, `the blank is given a preliminary bending operation indicated in Figs. 5 and 6. `The middle portion 4 of the blank is bent downward. Each of the end portions may be of extra width where a saddle or other fixture is to be provided, and a central portion 5 is drawn or stamped so as to project outward. Also the ends of the blank, shaped originally as in Fig. 4, are bent lirst outward as at 6 and lthen inward as at 7 to' form a'sort of V-shaped outward projection. The blank of F ig. 6 is then drawn to the segmental shape and two such blanks are placed edge to edgea-nd united, preferably by welding, 4though other means of uniting them may be used. v Y

l/Vhen the segments are -irst welded the ends are shaped as in Fig. 7. rlhey are thereafter swaged so as to press the parts 7 and 6 together and to a position transverse to the axis of the tubular part 1, as indicated at 8 and 9 in Fig. 1. An advantage of this method isv that the pressure is continued to bring the iianges to a determined distance from the transverse axis of the housing so as to exactly gauge the length of the latter and to make each lhalf of the same length, and this simultaneously with the forming of the langes. They thus form a` rib of double thickness re-inforcing the ends and providing a 'stiiil part for connection bearings and adjacent parts.

n "W hen the segments are welded the portionsr 5 constitute projections 10 with side walls 10a beyond theline of the tube,` stiiening the latter atr these points. Each of the vprojecting portions 10 may be provided with a circularv inward depression 11. A 1'iller12 may be welded into the depression 11 and serves aspart of the seat. The iiller has a hole 13 in the center to provide a clearance for thehead ofthe bolt which holds together the leaves of the spring on which the housing bears. The hole thus serves to .centerthe spring on the axle housing and the thrust of to the wheel driving is partly transmitted through the bolt.

According to Figs. 8 and 9, the segments are placed as before,but on the underside of the vflat portion 10 a spring seat is Welded in the form of a broad plate 14 which may. be made of a certain standard rolled steel sectionV cut to .the required Widthso as to extend slightly beyond the sides of the housing. Such a spring seat or saddle may be shaped on itsvtop surface to conform With housings Which are of various contours at the point ofattachment; Whether ofthe ,enlarged stiffened shapes illustrated in Figs. 3V and 9 or of the ordinary circular shape or of other usual or suitableV shapes. In any case the cross-section of the saddle will besuch that it can be economically produced from shapes rolled vin the ordinary Way. A filler similar to 12, Fig. '3), may be lo'catedbetween the plate 14 ,of Fig. 9: and the recess in the underside of the part 10 of the housing. Or the plate 14 may be rolledwith a protecting portion tollit the recess on the under side of the housing. Fig. 8 shows thattheI seat or saddle 14 isv asiinple rolled section with the center part of its face contoured in cross-section Y to that of the bottomof` the housing with sidel ribs 15 embracingthe latter and flanges 16 contributingthe extra Width desired. A strip of this s ortcan be rolledand sheared into lengths such as are shown inAFig. 8. TheA underside ofthe enlargement 10 maybe fiat: soas to bear the c ross-sections. Weight 1 on the seat A14. The kspring seat maybe applied either to the bottom of the housing as shown or to the topV thereof.

Fig. 10l shoWsa'rolled steel b r corresponding insection tothe part 12ofFig. 3,( and Fig. 11 a rolled steel'bar lcorresponding in section to the plate 14 of Fig. A9. APieces of theselrolled bars need onlyjto be cut to length andrpunche'dto produce the desired seats. Each of these seats is of uniform cross-section throughout its length so that no Work is' necessary on it V(exceptpunehing the central opening 13) after cutting itthe desired length. Y

What I claim is Y 1. An axle housing made of segments of sheet metal and having tubular end portions at an intermediate point in the length of Whichthe segments are bent out to form integral enlargements of substantially the same thickness as the adjacent parts and constituting bearing'points 'for spring seats.

2.? An axle housingA havingetubular end portions` at. an intermediatepoint in the lengthof which there are integral enlargemyllme- Y HEBBEBTH WILLIAMS The invention contemplates the making of f the end iange integral with the segments of n an extra thickness, Whether this be Ysecured by the bending arrangement described or by otherwiseforming up the metal at the" ends of the segments. Y For'example the segments may have the metal beyondthe indicated end of the housing of any suitable shape and this metal may be `upset by pressing it in- Wardto a determined distance from the center as above described to the exact gauge and tothe desired shape and extra thickness.

Various modifications in the details Ymay be made and in the arrangement of the parts bythose 'skilled in the art Withoutdeparture from the invention as defined inthe following claims.

its 

